R25 class Räumboot - building finally

[Dmitriy1967]

Depth charges are good! Tie them up faster, it seems that they are about to roll into the water!

[Steve D]

13 hours ago, Andreas.R said:

This Räumboot will be a stunning model!

Thanks Andreas, I'm really trying to do justice to it. 

 

They were interesting vessels that don't have the model coverage they deserve in my opinion.  Everyone focuses on the s-boats, I guess glamour wins always.  Still, I'm enjoying it and looking forward the side by side picture with my s-boat at the end.  They're identical (more of less) sizes will allow me to make the cases identical and they will form a nice matched pair addition to my coastal forces navy

 

Cheers

 

Steve

[Steve D]

Spent the past few days spare time with a final push on the main etching sheet, which I've finally got off to 4D.  Every time I do one of these, I always takes hours more than I plan, constant tweaking and decisions over what to etch vs print vs just make.  Plus its always a challenge how fine to make the shapes in this thickness of brass and still get away with it.  really, each final component is like designing a kit from scratch, just takes a lot of time.....

 

Anyway, for those interested, here is the finished artwork, a full A4 size this time because of the use of etched plate for the deckhouse (I'll repeat the colour rule to help explain what is shown, black no etch, red half from front, cyan half from back, white full thickness etch)

 

 

Contained on this sheet are

• The wheelhouse sides and open bridge inner sides and internal braces
• Stern roller frame (rollers from brass tube and wire)
• Sweep winch (also lots of tube and wire to add)
• Mast tabernacle (we'll see how that goes, I can always print one if it doesn't work, but I'd like it to be brass)
• Stanchion bases, I have a cunning plan for the stanchions this time, more later....
• Anchor winch
• 2cm Flak detailing.  Those open frames are for the shell case nets, really not clear if this will work as I have it in my head, they are super fragile and I still have to source some netting that will look OK...
• Wheelhouse roof ladder
• Sweep winch cable guide frame
• Spare cable drums (2)
• Shear kite components (wire needed to complete)
• Rear sweep buoy wings and tail, (3d printed body in rack shown below)
• Dragon wing, frame and tail (again, the body is 3d printed)
• Azimuth table

About 300 pieces in total

 

 

I am seriously looking forward to plating the wheelhouse, it will be very cool I think 

 

Been considering the curtains.  Those big windows in the wheelhouse were curtained off at night, study the pictures and you can just make them out.  My plan is to attempt these with tissue paper (and glue) on some tiny corrugated iron left over from my diorama, time will tell if I can make 1:48th scale curtains look realistic, I'm not convinced but will have a go....

 

Cheers

 

Steve

[Courageous]

Your PE drawing looks detailed and busy...as usual .

 

Stuart

[seadog]

Wow! I'm having huge problems with getting the Bridge right on my MTB - a CAD program would be a useful tool. Mind you the cost and time to learn it? At which point someone could look at how much plastic card and time - weeks - I've spent muddling about, and say DUH!

[Steve D]

10 hours ago, Courageous said:

your PE drawing looks detailed and busy..

Thanks Stuart, finger's crossed it works.   BTW I have a perfect record of remembering a component I've missed off the sheet AFTER the manufacturing has begun.  It happened again this time  why is that?  Still I'm looking forward to attempting to make the Dan buoy racks from wire......

 

1 hour ago, seadog said:

Wow! I'm having huge problems with getting the Bridge right on my MTB

The offer still stands, which specific wheelhouse version are you building? I have the drawings from Lambert's books, it would only take me a short session to draw it for you

 

Cast props and guns arriving Friday from Shapeways 

 

Cheers

 

Steve

[robgizlu]

That PE etch sheet as usual inspires equal amounts of awe and sheer jealousy 

"How do you think he does it?

I don't know.......

What makes him so good........."

 

To quote the Who  

Rob

[Steve D]

1 hour ago, robgizlu said:

PE etch sheet as usual inspires equal amounts of awe and sheer jealousy

I urge you to try it Rob.  It's super frustrating and time consuming but nothing quite equals the results you can obtain.  I still get things wrong every time, but enough passes muster to keep me going.  Resin is sooo tempting, especially with the results I'm getting with this water-washable clear stuff, but some things just have to be made of metal at this scale. It's kind of a natural law 

 

love the Who

 

Thanks

 

Steve

[Steve D]

Super short update on the cast metal components from Shapeways (which I realise are an indulgence but what the hell! I don't buy as many shoes as my wife, by a sea mile...)

 

My first 4 bladed props and that 2cm flak

 

 

And here is the fist flak assembled, the cradle is cut from the back of the gun and they are attached with 0.5mm brass wire.  The base will be turned and then enhanced with some etched parts and wire/tube etc. but I 'm happy with this result

 

 

 

One aspect of the casting process is the holes seem to come up slightly smaller than drawn so the props needed reaming out slightly, a little challenging to hold but I managed it

 

Here they are installed with the three rudders

 

 

There is nothing that adds character to a model like a custom bronze propeller 

 

Etching sheet coming nearly next week, rapid progress should follow its arrival

 

Cheers

 

Steve

[Dmitriy1967]

Beautiful products!

In the first photo, they look like jewelry made of gold. 

[Steve D]

47 minutes ago, Dmitriy1967 said:

they look like jewelry made of gold

Gold is available....  

[stevehnz]

I hadn't dropped by for a bit, I tend to stay away till I can do this thread the justice it deserves & a wet Sunday in NZ seemed like a good time for a catch & blimey what a catch up, you've been incredibly industrious Mr D. I have no pretensions of ever being able to replicate this sort of detail but just watching from the side lines is wonderfully rewarding. I've read a lot of WW2 naval literature where R-boats are mentioned, with only a vague mental picture of them. Now I've got no excuse for not knowing exactly what they were & did.

Steve.

[Steve D]

14 hours ago, stevehnz said:

I've read a lot of WW2 naval literature where R-boats are mentioned, with only a vague mental picture of them

Thanks Steve, I sincerely appreciate all the likes,.  This thread has been a slow burn by comparison to other builds due to the time the research took. 

 

Your quoted comment is on the money, these are largely forgotten vessels with almost no model representation so hopefully this thread is going some way to rectifying this gap and act as a resource for others.  I think they are actually really interesting and clearly show their heritage from a builder of luxury motor yachts, as did the very early s-boats.  Indeed they are really very similar in many respects.

 

Stick with it, the thread should speed up towards Christmas when the etching sheet arrives, lots of fun little equipment projects coming.

 

Cheers

 

Steve

[Iceman 29]

We become addicted to your threads like a good bottle, it's understandable! !      

 

[Steve D]

10 hours ago, Iceman 29 said:

We become addicted to your threads like a good bottle

Thanks Pascal, all comments are really appreciated

 

The next thread I have planned is a departure for me, something quite different.  No spoiler alert quite yet, but it will certainly start before Christmas. 

 

Time to get another drink in...

 

Cheers

 

Steve

[Dmitriy1967]

32 minutes ago, Steve D said:

  No spoiler alert quite yet, but it will certainly start before Christmas. 

 

 

And I will make one or two more parts on my assembly before Christmas...

(Said the turtle, looking at the sprinters.)

[Dancona]

Dear Steve,

I turn my back for five minutes, and look what happens, I think that you are getting faster, Ive just been catching up, and blimey !!

Another lovely museum quality object progressing faster than most of us can build kits ,I suspect that you are really an octopus !!

I doff my hat sir, masterful stuff !!

 

Cheers

 

David 

[Steve D]

43 minutes ago, Dancona said:

Another lovely museum quality object progressing faster than most of us can build kits

Thanks David, to me this one seems to be taking ages  proving once more that time is relative...

 

Stuck waiting for the main etching sheet (problems with their equipment) so tidying up some 3D models.  See my remodelling of the galley hatch below (it's about 1 inch square).  Those valves at the back are fire hydrants I think, some 0.7mm wire needed for the pipework to complete it once printed.  Ditto the galley chimney and the canvas cover frame.  More and more I'm liking the combination of printed parts and brass for strength, good combination

 

 

and the real thing for comparison.  As ever compromises are needed to ensure it prints

 

 

Cheers

 

Steve

[Jochen Barett]

I have no idea if it will be visible in the finished boat in this scale, but it seems it might be advantageous to have those curved guidebars (curved pipe in real life?) for the lid as a seperate part and not included in the print. The sides look lile canvas, so maybe tissue with glue would improve, but you're the expert and the one doing it, I'm just the armchair-consultant.

 

As alway: Everything said before the "but" is just a lie.

[Steve D]

Jochen, the guide bars are just visible but too thin to print separately. I know the side screens are canvas but truly at this scale I would just make a mess if I tried to make them from papier-mâché   I did consider it but with my clumsy hands it would just be too frustrating. As ever things are limited by printability and my own increasing lack of dexterity 

 

cheers

 

Steve

[beefy66]

Great work there Steve another bit of a catch up looking very nice with all the extra additions.  

 

Stay Safe

beefy

[Jochen Barett]

5 hours ago, Steve D said:

Jochen, the guide bars are just visible but too thin to print separately. +++

 

They seem to be "2cm" 20mm flat "iron". 20/48 giving 0.4mm material to scratch build them - or print them and add some panel wash.

But look at the(eir?) length(s): It seems they were longer in real life so that one could open the hatch all the way up to the vertical position (with a bend at the end of the guide rail(s?) to stop them).

[Steve D]

1 hour ago, Jochen Barett said:

look at the(eir?) length(s): It seems they were longer in real life so that one could open the hatch all the way up to the vertical position

You are right of course, my being lazy. Please bear in mind this model is over 2 feet long and contains 100’s of parts, all of which are only approximate. What I am aiming to achieve is to capture the essence of the vessel, not necessarily reproduce each component exactly. This process involves compromises 

[Jochen Barett]

It was just a matter of "ballance", worrying about the door knobs / venting holes for the Schapp (a Schrank (in this case a cabinet, Schrank can be anything from a cabinet over a cupboard to a closet) aboard a ship) where the Steuermann (helmsman) keeps his Butterbrote (sandwiches) in the wheelhouse and having these beautiful watchmaker made 2cm Flak.

 

Just keep going your way! I think it is safe to say "we are" enjoying it, not just "I am".

[Steve D]

Sorry for the delay in updating, it's been a period of reflection, completion, disappointment and triumph, not necessarily in that order.

 

Still, my mind is clear now and the build is wide open..

 

First @Jochen Barett , you were right, I could do better with that galley hatch assembly.  I knew it but when the hydrant assemblies turned out way to fragile and reprinting was necessary, I thought I would fix those other tiny issues and attempt the canvas screens.

 

So, the model was changed, the valves deleted to be replace with brass, the sides opened up and a mould made for  papier-mache side screens.  The valves were remade from grab-rail stanchions (turn them upside down and they look just like valves with a little adjustment on the lathe)

 

Here is the completed assembly before priming, sides open at this stage.  The hydrant lines are fed from the rear of the galley hatch, 42 pieces in total

 

 

The other side

 

 

And in primer on the deck

 

 

That tiny quadrant is being moulded in this mould, which also includes a mould for the wheelhouse drawn curtains

 

 

Tissue drying

 

 

I have no clue if this will work, will cover in the next update, I've not moulded tissue this fine before

 

Now the disappointment, the etching came back and it was wrong.  Somehow, the rivet detail was lost and other areas were over-etched.  I spoke to 4D and they agreed to re-do it for free, I think it was their mistake not mine.  First time they've not been perfect, still I lost a week waiting

 

In the picture below you can see the difference on the rivet reveal (compared to earlier etched butt straps, size the same)

 

 

This rather unhelpful picture shows the two side by side, zoom in to see the difference, the left is the new one

 

 

Still, while I was waiting, I was able to trail fit the wheelhouse sides, more or less a perfect fit, a small amount of fettling will be needed on those diagonal pieces.

 

 

Not all pieces were unusable, I pulled together one of the 4 sweep buoys, print and brass, sweet

 

 

Clearer in primer, super detail on that print

 

 

I also made up the chain-stopper, it works (print plus scrap brass)...

 

 

And sorted the base assembly for the 2cm Flak, more work needed on the gun

 

 

In primer

 

 

So, I'm back on track now and I've printed all the remaining components, so I now have a clear run at it

 

Cheers

 

Steve